Prosecutors: Driver Who Fatally Struck Teen Pedestrian Was High on Drugs

A charge of vehicular homicide was filed last week against a Buckley man accused of fatally hitting a teenage pedestrian on Halloween night in Enumclaw.

King County prosecutors say Cody R. Money, 20, was high on marijuana and oxycodone when his Nissan Titan pickup veered off State Route 410 toward Justin Relethford, 16, and his 15-year-old girlfriend, who were walking hand-in-hand on the side of the road.

Relethford reportedly told had told his girlfriend to walk on the other side of him just moments before the crash: “Switch sides with me,” he said, according to the girl's account. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to you.”

He died at the scene; the girl suffered minor injuries.

Money told investigators that he had looked down to check his phone just moments before the impact, according to the investigating detective's report. His girlfriend who was riding in the passenger seat corroborated, "Cody looked down to grab something and I looked up and there was a kid on the white line."

Money reportedly gave inconsistent accounts of where the pedestrians were walking - within the fog line or in traffic - though witnesses told investigators they were walking within the shoulder rather than in the road.

The detective's report also indicated that while it was dark, conditions were partly cloudy at the time with good visibility.

Senior deputy prosecuting attorney Amy Freedheim wrote in the case summary that a legal blood draw from Money performed three hours after the collision showed THC levels consistent with Money's admission that he'd consumed marijuana within, at most, a couple of hours of the crash. The draw also revealed the presence of oxycodone, a prescription narcotic drug, though there was no evidence Money had a prescription for it. Two officers at the scene observed signs of marijuana impairment in Money, she wrote. Further, oxycodone also affects the ability of a driver to recognize dangers on the roadway, to maintain lane travel and to concentrate.

Money did not have a known criminal history, wrote Freedheim though he had several moving violations spanning November 2008 through January 2013, along with a pending malicious mischief case. The SeattlePI.com reported Tuesday that he was not in jail in this case. His arraignment takes place March 21 at the Regional Justice Center in Kent.

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Previous coverage:

Teen Pedestrian Killed on State Route 410 in Enumclaw Identified

Funeral Service for Teen Killed in Halloween Pedestrian Collision Saturday

Witnesses Sought for Fatality on State Route 410 Wednesday